Political
Ideas Second Exam Due date: Wednesday,
November 28.
Answer three of the following questions. Answer at least one question from Part One
and one from Part Two. Answer each
question with an essay approximately 1 1/2 to 2 pages long (typed, double-spaced). Try to express your ideas in your own words,
using only brief quotations from the readings, if any. When you do quote or paraphrase the ideas of
other authors, give them credit and indicate where you found the idea. (A page
reference in parentheses is sufficient for this purpose -- for example:
[Heywood, p.56]; formal footnotes are not necessary.)
Part One
- Explain
and critically discuss the following claim (made by Marx and Engels,
discussed by Lenin): Since the
function of the state is to enforce the rule of one class over the others,
and thus to make it possible for that class to exploit the others, a
classless society would not need any government, and the state would
"wither away".
- In
the Communist Manifesto Marx and Engels wrote, "The executive
of the modern State is but a committee for managing the common affairs of
the whole bourgeoisie." Less
dramatically, many on the left have argued that, in a capitalist society,
government cannot be genuinely democratic because capitalists (or ‘the
rich) will inevitably have disproportionate political power. What reasons can be given to support
this claim? To what extent do you
think the claim is true? What
might be done to make a capitalist society more democratic?
- What
do you think of the idea (an idea found in anarchism, in the 'Green'
movement, and in some forms of socialism and some forms of feminism) that
we ought to be trying to create a society in which, to the greatest extent
possible, no one has power over anyone else because everyone has equal
power, a society in which there is no domination, no hierarchy, no
coercive authority? Is this
possible? (If so, how? If not, why
not?) Is it a good idea?
- What
do you take to be the central principles or ideals of socialism? What, if anything, do you find
attractive in the ideals of socialism?
What problems do you see in the idea of socialism? How might people who are committed to
the ideals of socialism try to overcome these problems? Do you think such efforts could succeed?
Part Two
- In
many parts of the world 'Western' political ideals are being rejected in
favor of one sort fundamentalism or another. Islamic fundamentalists reject
liberalism in favor of Islamic law and traditional Islamic political
ideas. In the U.S. some parts of
the so-called 'Christian right' favor a restoration of the idea that the
U.S. is "a Christian country" and a rejection of the liberal
ideal of the separation of church and state. In part these movements are based on the belief that social
order can only be sound and lasting if it is based on a common core of
religious values. What do you
think of these movements?
(Explain.)
- Some
people think that the most important contribution of feminism to political
thinking has been the idea that "the personal is political",
that is, that many aspects of life that were previously thought to be
private or personal or, anyway, not part of politics, do have a
political dimension. What are some
examples that would illustrate this idea?
What do you think of this idea?
What consequences does it have for politics?
7.
Explain
and critically discuss the following claim:
a society constructed according to the principles suggested by women's
experiences would be very different in its values and in its institutions from
any of the male-dominated societies with which we are familiar. Different how? Why? Do you agree?
8. The
'Green' movement rejects both capitalism and socialism on the grounds that they
are equally committed to 'unsustainable' policies of industrialism, consumerism
and the pursuit of economic growth.
Explain and critically evaluate the Green's call for a reorientation of
our society and politics towards 'sustainability'. Does this shift really require a new political orientation? Or can environmental concerns be adequately
addressed by one or more of the ideologies that already exist (liberalism,
conservatism or socialism, for example)?
(See Heywood, pp.283-289 for background.)